


Losing Control

by hunter139



Series: hunter 139's multiverse of stories [10]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Dead Space (Video Games), Halo (Video Games) & Related Fandoms, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Metroid Series
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Compliant, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Lincoln Campbell Lives, Marriage Proposal, Multiple Crossovers, Multiverse, Romance, Until season 4
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-14
Updated: 2020-03-14
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:34:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 9
Words: 17,996
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23145511
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hunter139/pseuds/hunter139
Summary: Sometimes it's good to lose control. In more ways than one. StaticQuake. Canon divergent after Season 4 winter finale. Warning: Rated M for a reason. Smut in Chapter 5. Multicrossover.
Relationships: Alphonso "Mack" Mackenzie/Yo Yo Rodriguez, Leo Fitz/Jemma Simmons, Lincoln Campbell/Skye | Daisy Johnson, Phil Coulson/Melinda May
Series: hunter 139's multiverse of stories [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1467655
Comments: 10
Kudos: 20





	1. Losing Control

"Sometimes it's good to lose control." Daisy whispered.

Before Lincoln could ask what she meant, his fellow Inhuman pulled her shirt and bra off in one smooth motion. Anything he planned to say died on his lips, as Daisy put her hands on his head and pulled him closer.

The two of them started making out, as Lincoln wrapped his arms around her waist. Their hands explored each other's bodies as the very air seemed to heat up around them, ready to finish what had been started in the gym. In wonton lust, he pushed them back towards his bed.

The need for air caused Lincoln and Daisy to break off their kiss, and he used that opportunity to take his own shirt off, before Daisy kissed him again, much more hungrily than before.

Vibrations started and sparks flew as the two Inhumans landed on the bed. Heart racing, all coherent thoughts were expunged from Lincoln's mind as they gave in to both of their desires.

* * *

Inside the lab, Jemma Simmons was hard at work analyzing Carl Creel's blood. With the discovery that his powers could vaccinate people from Terrigenesis, Simmons was quick to study how it was possible and whether the effect could be replicated.

Of course, it wouldn't be wise to just inject people with a serum derived from Creel's blood. While it may be the key to preventing Terrigenesis from happening to those who wouldn't want to change (or to those that shouldn't), for all she knew, it could end up giving people his absorbing powers. It would be trading one set of problems for another.

As Jemma prepared another test, she halted in her tracks when she felt the ground shake slightly. She frowned at that. _That's rather odd._ The source of the shaking was pretty obvious, but why would Daisy feel the need to use her powers?

Shrugging it off, Simmons looked back at her work, trying to ignore the slight shaking, when the lights flickered briefly. At that, Simmons grew concerned. Considering the Playground ran off its own (rather efficient) generator, the only thing that could cause any sort of power surge in the base was Lincoln.

With that in mind, she turned and was about to get out of her seat when another small tremor shook the building. Seconds later, it was followed by another surge as the lights flickered on and off.

"Oh god!" She said in panic, rushing towards the gym.

She knew that the fight between them was bad, but she couldn't imagine the two of them getting into a physical confrontation over it, let alone letting powers fly. As another surge rocked the base, Simmons rushed into the gym...

Only to find it completely deserted.

Jemma blinked, confused about this whole situation. If the two of them weren't fighting, then what were they doing? That's when she realized that pulses and quakes were occuring in a harmonized rhythmic pattern that was also becoming stronger with each cycle.

"Oh god." She muttered, burying her face in her hands.

That was when Fitz walked in, looking around at the empty gym, the constant quakes and electric pulses and Simmons with her hands covering her face. Putting the pieces together, Fitz's expression mirrored Jemma's mortified reaction. Looking up briefly, he sighed.

"Daisy and Lincoln?"

"Yep." Simmons replied.

"They're-?"

"Yep." She repeated.

Groaning, he buried his face again. _Shake and Bake. Hunter was right about that._ Then with another sigh, he raised his head again.

"Do you think we should... stop them?"

"I don't think that's a good idea." She replied.

That was the moment when Mack ran into the doorway, grasping his hands on the edges of the doorframe. He was panting very slightly and covered in patches of grease. Clearly, he had been in the middle of maintaining some of the cars in the motor pool when the shaking and flickering had started.

"Ok..." Mack said, seeing the two scientists standing in the middle of the gym, with looks of exasperation and disgust on their faces. "What exactly is going on and how are our resident Inhumans involved?"

"You don't want to know." Fitz replied, shaking his head.

Mack was about to respond when another tremor shook the ground, immediately followed by another power surge that caused the lights to flicker for a second. Then he made the connection and his face fell, shaking his head albeit with a small smile on his lips.

"Tremors and Sparks?" Mack asked.

"Yep." Fitzsimmons replied as one.

"Of course." He muttered. "Ok, we should... we should probably let them be. Until they finish, anyway."

The base shook and the lights flickered once more, as if to punctuate Mack's statement.

"That might take a while." Fitz sighed.

With that, the three of them went back to their work, while just trying to ignore the disruptions that were clearly the work of the resident superheroes. The mild tremors and flickering lights continued for a long time.

* * *

Nearly an hour later, the two Inhumans were lying on Lincoln's bed, naked, sweaty, and breathless. Their clothes were scattered all over the floor and several of the furnishings in the room had fallen over. Vibrations and static danced between their bodies where they were touching.

"Wow." Lincoln whispered in between breaths. "Just... wow."

"Yeah." Daisy panted, curled up next to him and using his chest as a pillow. "That was fun."

They lay there in silence, just basking in the afterglow when a knock emerged on the door.

"You guys done in there?" Mack's voice emerged from behind the door, sounding stern and yet almost like he was stifling laughter. "You two have been causing earthquakes and power surges for the past hour!"

The two Inhumans froze at that, their cheeks burning. They had cut loose during their session, but neither of them had realized that their powers had spread outside the room. The momentary silence was broken when Daisy buried her head in Lincoln's chest with a groan.

"We're never going to live this down." She half-whispered and half-sighed.

Lincoln was silent for a moment before he could find his voice under all the embarrasment.

"Maybe we should've had more control." Lincoln muttered.

"Yeah..." Daisy agreed.

There was silence for a moment before Daisy spoke again.

"Still worth it, though." She added.

"Oh yeah."


	2. Losing You

_The nightmare began as it always did; flashes of memories from events in her life. Then the scenery changed. There was nothing around her besides a gray hue of a featureless landscape. She felt an overwhelming pressure coming down on her, as her mind felt the touch of something vast and ancient. Then the landscape shifted in a flash._

_Her memories of everything she had done while under the control of Hive; killing Malick, framing Lincoln, devastating the Playground, threatening Fitz, crippling that Kree, nearly killing Mack, offering herself to Hive after being freed and watching as Lincoln sent her flying out of the Quinjet, which then rocketed into the sky. Then the scene shifted again._

_She saw images, memories, visions that were not her own. She witnessed a cloud of blue glowing particles form itself into a humanoid in black armor, covered in blue light which emanated from the shoulders, chest and the vaguely t-shaped visor. The being's right arm had seemingly been replaced by a cannon, and this creature was hovering off the ground. It was clear that the suit design was beyond even what Iron Man possessed. She didn't know why, but this being gave off an aura of wrongness. It felt like it shouldn't even exist._

_The landscape changed again. This time, she was standing on a cliff overlooking an alien city. As she watched, a massive skyscraper-sized squid shaped... thing emerged from the sky and landed in the streets, blaring a deep bass note that was felt rather than heard. The squid shifted, and a beam of bright red light emerged from between a pair of tentacles, carving a path through the city._

_The scene shifted, this time on a barren world filled with dilapidated ruins of an alien nature. They seemed vaguely Kree in origin, yet clearly from a different source. Hanging in the sky was a moon. This was no ordinary moon, considering that a normal moon didn't have continent-size tentacles emerging from the bottom half, resembling some form of demonic jellyfish. The moon shrieked, shifting the view into cold darkness._

_The view shifted again. All that could be seen now was the green and yellow of rotting flesh. Tentacles curled and writhed throughout the landscape, seemingly aimless in their direction. Then they turned towards her. The flesh of the tendrils slithered towards her, and her powers did nothing to discourage them. Soon, nothing could be seen as the tentacles wrapped around her. She felt this monstrosity, this abomination. It felt endless. Then, a disembodied rasping baritone voice pierced the icy darkness._

"This is not your grave." _Some sort of disgusting gurgling punctuated that statement._ "But you are welcome in it."

"What-what are you?" _She choked out._

_Suddenly, a massive worm-shaped head emerged from the inky blackness, the same texture as the tentacles earlier. Within the creature's maw was a mouth composed of razor sharp teeth. She felt very small as the massive creature turned to address her._

_"_ I am the monument to all your sins."

* * *

Daisy awoke with her heart pounding in her chest. She was in her bed in one of the containment cells, with everything in the room shaking from her powers. Quickly, she cut the vibrations before she could do any damage. Sighing, she buried her face in her hands, as was custom nowadays.

She wondered if the nightmares from her time under Hive's thrall would ever stop. Then she wondered whether they _should_ ever stop. And whether the cravings she felt from Hive's mind control would ever go away.

Sighing, she rose from her bed and shook, still feeling the withdrawal from when she was under Hive's control. Yet another side effect from that monstrous Inhuman, and these nightmares were another. While she hadn't normally seen anything from Hive's mind during her thrall under him, she had gotten occasional flashes of some sort of visions from him.

And still these visions haunted her for weeks after Hive's defeat and Lincoln's... sacrifice. Her thoughts shifted to all the emotions she still felt from that event. That was supposed to be her destiny. To ensure Hive would never rise again.

She hadn't wanted anyone else to die for her, least of all him. Lincoln was the one person who understood her. In some ways, more so than even her friends in SHIELD could claim. He was the one she loved. Loved... Tears streamed from her eyes at the thought of their final conversation over the radio.

He had told her he loved her. And she never had the chance to tell him that she felt the same. How much he had truly meant to her. The tears rolled down her face, unbidden and with no desire to stop them.

And now, he was gone.

"I love you, Lincoln." She whispered huskily. "And I always will."

* * *

"Status?"

"We've recovered one body from the Quinjet's wreckage."

"How is he?"

"He's stable. Considering the state he was in when we found him, that's really all we can ask for."

"And Hive?"

"We can't find him anywhere. For all we know, his remains burnt up in the atmosphere."

"Keep searching. If the information we got is accurate, Hive may be a far greater threat than we thought."

"You really think he's working for them?"

"I'm certain of it. Especially after the neural scan of Ms. Johnson's dreams."

"The one SHIELD doesn't know about?"

"Obviously."

"Right well, Mr. Campbell's mind is showing some erratic behavior, but I think we can chalk that up to the regeneration process."

"You said that the bomb was filled with a variation of Hive's parasites. Could he be under Hive's sway?"

"We've cleared any of those parasites from the explosion, and if Hive's dead, then there's no one to control him. Still, there's no way to be sure if he's not suffering another form of mind control until after he wakes up... Of course, that's assuming he will wake up."

"Keep him stabilized. Hopefully, he'll be able to tell us what happened to Hive."

"What do we do with him afterwards?"

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."


	3. Waking Up

_"Well, I got to see the world."_

_"It's beautiful. Smaller than you imagine."_

_"Yeah."_

_"I only wanted to make it better."_

_"I know."_

_"To feel a connection. But you must feel that already. To sacrifice for them...with all their flaws."_

_"They're only human."_

_It was done. The world was now safe from Hive's threat. Of course, it had come at a cost, but as Lincoln looked over the world from the Quinjet, he felt that his life was a small price to pay for the safety of the world._

_Hive would die with him. He was at peace with that. And Daisy... she would live. After all that had happened, after everything she'd been through, she deserved that much and more. His only regret was that he wouldn't get to see her one last time. With several seconds left on the warhead's timer, Lincoln turned to look at his companion._

_That's when he saw something disturbing._

_A small blue-white portal had appeared from nowhere, and a sickly green tentacle had wrapped itself around Hive and was drawing him in. But Lincoln wasn't focused on the fact that Hive would cheat death._

_He was more focused on the terrified expression that had taken hold on Grant Ward's visage. From this, two things were clear; The first Inhuman wasn't expecting this, and yet he knew what it was._

_Then everything went white._

* * *

Lincoln jolted awake from his dream, finding himself lying in a hospital bed. That alone was fairly shocking unto itself: After blasting the Quinjet into orbit with Hive and an active warhead, the Inhuman fully expected to be dead, not in a hospital gown looking no worse for wear.

This brought back the memory of the last time he was in a scenario like this, where he woke up with Daisy, then still known as Skye, by his side. Looking around, he felt disappointed and worried that she wasn't here this time.

But the more pressing surprise was the fact that all the hospital equipment looked incredibly advanced, far more so than even SHIELD had. It almost looked... alien in design and function. Wherever he was, it definitely wasn't with SHIELD.

Shaking off the drowsiness, he struggled out of bed, drawing the attention of a nearby doctor. A human doctor, which felt oddly out of place considering everything that happened.

"Woah there, take it easy." The doctor said, rushing to the bedside. "You've been asleep for a while. How are you feeling?"

"I feel surprisingly good. You know, for someone who should be dead." Lincoln murmered, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Technically speaking, you were dead." The doctor replied, to Lincoln's confusion.

"How long was I out?" He asked as he carefully stood up.

"Three months." The doctor said. "It didn't take long to fully regenerate your body, but the coma you were in lasted longer than we anticipated."

"What do you mean, 'regenerate'?" Lincoln asked. The doctor silently pulled out a small circular pad, out of which sprung a hologram of a medical chart.

"This is how we found you." He said simply.

Lincoln's eyes widened. The level of damage his body had sustained would've been sufficient enough to truly declare him dead. Hell, if the chart was correct, he had been recovered in several pieces! He looked down toward his hands. His intact hands. And yet, these people were somehow able to heal all that damage to the point where it seemed and felt like he hadn't suffered at all.

"Who- what are you people?"

"That's a really long and complicated story." The doctor sighed.

"Well, h-how did you fix me?" Lincoln shakily asked as he stood up, the full measure of what had happened truly set in. "Cloning? Cybernetics? Kree Blood?"

"None of the above." The doctor replied. "But rest assured, you're not some sort of copy. You're still you, nothing has changed in that regard."

Lincoln opened his mouth to inquire more, when a sudden thought occured to him.

"Well, what about Hive's parasites?" Lincoln asked with a sense of horror. "Am I infected?"

"Oh, those?" The doctor waved his hand dismissively before looking over a chart. "You're fine. We made sure you weren't infected and removed all the parasites from the area."

Between the mystery of where he was, his curiousity at how he had been brought back from the dead, and the rather disinterested attitude of the doctor, Lincoln's patience was starting to wear thin.

"Ok, enough with the cryptic explanations!" Lincoln snapped, electricity sparking in his hands. "I want answers, now!"

The doctor cringed slightly at the sight, but otherwise, seemed rather calm for someone facing a rather irate and confused Inhuman. Before the doctor could say anything more, there was the sound of a door opening and heavy footsteps walking into the room.

"Then perhaps you should sit down." A voice came from somewhere on his right. Lincoln turned to the source, and his jaw dropped.

This... being was not an Inhuman. It had definitely never been human, that Lincoln could say for certain. Standing at 8 feet tall, with bluish-gray skin and backwards knees, this creature was definitely no alien he had ever heard of. But it was the head that drew the most attention: beady orange eyes hovered over a mouth made entirely of four fleshy mandibles filled with teeth, lacking a nose and a humanoid mouth.

"This may take a while to explain."

It- He spoke rather eloquently for someone who didn't have a tongue. Numbly, the Inhuman walked over to his hospital bed and sat on the edge, while the doctor pulled up his own chair while the alien stood. Once they were settled, the conversation began.

...

"That's... wow." The Inhuman said dumbly after their story had finished. It was all he could really say.

Lincoln had already considered himself as a small part of a grand plan, but after hearing this story (and seeing some of the evidence), he never realized just how grand the plan could possibly be until now. He felt rather small in comparison to all of this. Even the events with the Avengers and SHIELD felt miniscule in comparison.

"You're not kidding, are you?"

"No." The alien confirmed. "We are not kidding."

For a moment, Lincoln looked at his saviors, their story putting things in a whole new light. Then with a sigh, he rubbed his face in his hands before focusing on the doctor and the alien (he'd ask the name of his species later) again.

"So what is it you want from me?"

"You were the last person to see Hive." The alien responded. "We need to know where he is."

"Couldn't he have burnt up in the atmosphere already?" Lincoln pointed out.

"Perhaps, but we were able to recover your body from the Quinjet's wreckage, and yet there was no trace of Hive." The alien said.

"He could've been vaporized by the warhead." The doctor interjected. "In fact, if the body was positioned at just the right angle, it might have shielded Lincoln here from the bulk of the blast."

"That would explain why there was enough of my body left over for you to regenerate." Lincoln said.

"It's possible." The alien admitted. "But we never assume that someone's dead until we see a body." He gestured to Lincoln himself. "And sometimes, not even then."

Both doctors, human and Inhuman, conceded the point with a nod and a shrug, respectively.

"Regardless, we have been told to offer you a job with us." The doctor said. "If you choose to decline, then we'll leave it at that. You can return to your world and you'll never hear from us again."

Lincoln was silent for a long moment. If he had heard this offer a few minutes ago, he'd have given them the same answer he'd first given SHIELD (and been just as suspicious), but unlike them, these guys had given him more than enough evidence to convince him to join with them, even in a non-combatant role. Still, there was one condition he wanted met before he would consider working for these people.

"I want to see Daisy." Lincoln said. "If I'm going to join you, then I want her to know that I'm alright."

"That's fair enough. And we can arrange that." The alien replied. "Still, we must get back on track: what's the last thing you remember about Hive?"

Lincoln paused for a moment as he considered the last memory he had of Hive... then it hit him.

"I think he was being dragged away by some green tentacle thing..."

Lincoln trailed off at the sight of the alien's eyes widening and the doctor's trembling. This clearly wasn't news they wanted to hear. It was a very long moment before anyone spoke again, but after what felt like hours, the alien broke the silence.

"That's... not good."

* * *

Moments after the tentacle grabbed him, Hive was pulled through a portal which promptly sealed shut. Unfortunately, Hive was unable to fully escape the blast, and Grant Ward's body and skin were now charred in several areas. Ward's face was also gone, replaced by Hive's true visage.

A normally frightening sight, it utterly paled in comparison to the eldritch monstrosity that now loomed over him. The wormlike head towered over him, it's maw filled with razor sharp teeth. All around him, the walls and ceiling were covered in sickly green flesh, and dozens of tentacles writhed around the Inhuman's body.

Hive stared up at the massive creature, sending a very human chill up Ward's spine. Out of the darkness, Hive could also see a being in a suit of black and blue armor hovering and watching the ongoing events with what appeared to be amusement.

"Master, I-"

"Have failed." The rasping baritone of a million voices caused his skin to crawl, as the hundreds of minds within Hive's own were rather insignificant when compared to the plausible quintillions that made up the mind of this creature.

"You promised an army of Inhumans, and yet you created nothing more than primitives." The abomination growled.

"Master, please!" Hive shrieked. "I just need a little more time-!"

"You had thousands of years." The creature snapped. "And time has taught me patience, something you lack. But time is no longer my ally. You promised me Inhumans. And you failed to deliver them."

"Master, let me go back." Hive begged. The black armored being laughed in a distinctly female voice, but neither creature paid her any mind. "I will do as you ask. I will build you an army, even if I have to drain all of Daisy's blood-"

"Her blood is the reason your experiment failed!" The Mind roared. "The Kree blood was diluted. And now you will make up for your oversight here."

Dozens of squid-shaped little creatures emerged from the darkness of the hive, shortly followed by grotesque and misshapen humanoid abominations. They walked up to the tentacles holding Hive, only to pause a meter away. Then they spoke as one, in one voice.

"I have another use for you, Alveus."

The menacing abominations circled around Hive as a cloud of green mist/fog slowly filled the room. To his horror, he felt his master's spores overrode his own. As the spores that made up Hive were corrupted one by one, the first Inhuman now knew that death would've been preferable to this 'mercy'.


	4. Reunion

Daisy was lying on the ground, groaning from all the wounds she had sustained. The Watchdogs had ambushed her after the events at Isodyne, after Robbie, Coulson and Fitz had disappeared. Director Mace had taken her in after the events with Eli Morrow, and without Coulson, there was little the rest of the Team could do to stop him.

Mace had claimed that she would get a fair trial for her crimes, but considering how the Watchdogs were able to get to her, she was beginning to wonder whether or not he was in league with them. It wasn't an impossible thought; James had been working with the Watchdogs, despite being Inhuman. It wasn't impossible to consider that Mace might have a similar agreement.

Still, she had been led into a Watchdog trap and with the issues with her powers, she could only hold for so long, especially against a group of heavily armed Watchdogs. So now, Daisy was on the floor, with one of the racist pricks holding a gun in his hand.

So this was it. This was how it ended. Strangely, Daisy actually found herself somewhat at peace. After what she had done under Hive's control, and everything that had happened once she was free from it, it was easy just to let go. But just as the Watchdog took aim, a voice rang out through the room.

"GET AWAY FROM HER!"

That voice. It couldn't be. He was dead. But a stream of lightning slamming into her attacker left her with no doubt of her savior's identity. Dimly, she was aware of the other Watchdogs falling to more lightning, and in a few seconds, they were all unconscious or dead, she couldn't be sure. But she was sure of who her savior was, and as he walked into view, her thought was confirmed.

It was Lincoln Campbell.

He had a look of concern over his face, one that just broke her heart to see. Daisy could feel herself fading, and all she wanted was to see his smiling face one last time. She didn't know if she was hallucinating right now or if he was just here in the form of a ghost. It really didn't matter: He was someone she wanted to see.

She felt herself rising, as it seemed that Lincoln was lifting her in his arms. She softly smiled as the darkness enveloped her, happy that she was going to see him again. She heard one last thing as the darkness became complete.

"I've got you, Daisy."

* * *

Daisy woke up in a hospital bed, surprised and confused that she wasn't dead. The very first thing she noticed were the clinical white walls and ceiling around her. The second thing she noticed was that Lincoln was sitting next to her bed. His hand was on hers and his head was lying on her bed, making her realize that he was asleep.

Thirdly, she felt something... odd about the vibrations around her. With the exception of herself and Lincoln, the vibrations felt strange. The frequency of the vibrations were far different from what she was used to. Then she saw the window: it was just a view of millions of stars. They were in space.

She supposed she should've been concerned, but being alive, with Lincoln actually by her side... It was all she could think about. This couldn't have been a dream, it felt far too real. And so he was he. His soft breathing, the slight tingle of his hand on hers. He was real. He was alive.

At that moment, Lincoln stirred, sleepily opening his eyes. He looked at her and a ghost of a smile graced his lips. She hadn't realized just how much she'd missed him until now.

"Hey." He whispered.

"You're back." Her mind really couldn't think of anything else to say.

"I'm so sorry it took me so long." He said.

"Better late than never." She supposed she should've been angry, but after everything that had happened, she was just so happy to see him.

"How're you feeling?"

"Pretty good, actually." Confused, Daisy pulled up the covers to look at her wound, only to find that it didn't even look like she'd been shot. No marks, no scars, nothing. "How long have I been out?"

"Um, about a day." Lincoln looked at a nearby clock. "They still recommend that you rest for a little longer."

At that, Daisy couldn't hold back a yawn, causing Lincoln to smile softly. He looked around, focusing at the door, causing Daisy to grab his hand. He looked back into her eyes, where tears started to gather.

"Stay with me please." Daisy begged.

"I'm not going anywhere." Lincoln promised.

He climbed into the bed with her, the hospital bed barely large enough to hold both of them, but Daisy didn't care, feeling the same comfort she hadn't felt in months. Daisy slowly drifted off into a deep sleep, with her revived boyfriend at her side.

...

Daisy woke up a few hours later, half-expecting the events of the previous night to have been just another dream. The soft breathing on her neck and the tingling from the static on his hands convinced her otherwise.

"I am so glad this wasn't a dream."

"Same here." His sleepy voice whispered in her ear, giving her goosebumps, and unintentionally causing the bed to shake a little bit. "How're you feeling?"

"Fine." As she said that, she felt a little parched. "Though I could use some water."

"One glass of water coming up."

He got out of the bed and grabbed some water for her from a nearby tap. Once that was done, he handed her the glass, then sat down on the chair next to her. She sat up on the edge of the bed and faced him.

"How are you alive though?" She asked, finishing off the liquid in her hands. "I thought being on that Quinjet killed you."

"Technically it did." He said, looking up in thought. "The guys who run this place are the ones who brought me back."

That brought her up short. Considering the explosion and the vacuum of space, Lincoln's body couldn't have been in very good condition. Coulson was barely brought back, and that required cutting edge technology and the blood of a Kree to accomplish, and his body had been mostly intact. To do the same to Lincoln with less to use couldn't have been easy. Add to the fact that they were clearly in space, and whatever organization was behind this must've been unusually advanced.

"Who are these guys?"

"Yeah..." Lincoln rubbed the back of his neck. "I don't think you'd believe me if I told you."

"Considering everything we've seen on our world," Daisy started with a laugh. "I don't think there's anything that could surprise me anymore."

Lincoln gave her an amused look. "Ten bucks says you're wrong." And with that, he sat down next to her.

...

Daisy had thought she'd seen everything: from the Inhumans to the Avengers, to actual ghosts and a guy with a flaming skull who claimed to have sold his soul to Satan. At this point, she figured that there was nothing else in the world that could surprise her. Lincoln's explanation of who his rescuers were showed just how wrong she was.

"... Ok," Daisy spoke after a moment of shocked silence. "That's a new one. I guess I owe you ten bucks."

"Told you." Lincoln said with a smirk.

"Do you trust these people?" Daisy asked.

"Not really." Lincoln admitted. "But they saved my life, and helped me get to you. That's gotta count for something."

"Yet they've somehow been able to see my dreams." She retorted. "That doesn't inspire much confidence."

"It doesn't," Lincoln agreed. "Which is part of the reason I'm concerned. Who knows how deeply these guys have penetrated SHIELD, even with Coulson's handpicked recruits."

"And clearly, Mace's new security protocols haven't detected them either." Daisy murmered, to Lincoln's confusion.

"Mace? Wait, you mean the new SHIELD director?"

"Yeah..." She muttered. "Suffice to say, I preferred Coulson. At least he wouldn't sell me out to the Watchdogs."

"You think Mace put you in that position? Considering he's an Inhuman..."

"Ask your new friends." Daisy pointed out. "I'm assuming they told you where to find me."

"Well, yeah." Lincoln said sheepishly. "These guys are pretty much everywhere."

"Yeah, and it doesn't give me much comfort when they've apparently been reading my dreams." Daisy said, crossing her arms. "Do you even know why they were?"

"Yeah, I do." He sighed, to her surprise. "They started it after you were freed from Hive's control."

"The same time I started getting those strange nightmares." She realized. "They know what caused them, don't they?" Lincoln nodded. "And so do you."

"Yeah, I do."

At her unspoken question, he sat down and sighed. Then Lincoln explained exactly what the nightmares she had were of.

...

Half an hour later, Daisy was feeling horrified. The creatures Lincoln described sounded unnatural. And to think that Hive was serving that...

"Hive was serving what?!" Daisy all but screeched, then her eyes widened. "I was willingly serving that thing?!"

"Stop." Lincoln halted her train of thought right there. "Don't do this to yourself, Daisy. It wasn't you. It never was."

"But I'm the reason this all happened." She said, self loathing breaking through once more. "I let myself get infected by Hive. Everything after that is on me. Hurting Mack and Fitz, causing your... death-"

"That was my choice." Lincoln interrupted, grabbing her shoulders and looking her in the eyes. "And if I had to, I would do it again in a heartbeat."

He wrapped his arms around her, as Daisy could no longer hold back the waterworks. Frankly, she was amazed she had held back for this long. They sat there for a while before Daisy spoke again.

"I love you." Daisy whispered, tears pouring down her face.

"I love you too." Lincoln replied, holding her as close as he could. Tears of his own were flowing down his face. "I won't leave you again. I promise you."


	5. Return

It had been a busy time for SHIELD since Daisy had disappeared and reappeared. Mace had revealed that Senator Nadeer had blackmailed him into aiding her, sending Simmons away to help her brother, and unknowingly sending Daisy to the Watchdogs.

They had also dealt with Eli Morrow, with Robbie taking him over to hell after his experiment was complete. No one had seen the Ghost Rider since then, but Daisy was sure he would be back at some point. During that event, Mace had even managed to spin her appearance in downtown LA in her favor, managing to get the fugitive label off of herself in the media.

After that, things had become a little hectic. Radcliffe had been corrupted by his brief look at the Darkhold, and had AIDA attempt to steal the book. He had even replaced May with an LMD, though fortunately, Fitz had discovered this before things could get out of hand. May was returned to SHIELD, the second AIDA was dismantled, and Radcliffe had been placed under arrest.

But the biggest surprise to SHIELD had been when Daisy had revealed that Lincoln was still alive. It wasn't too long after Radcliffe had been exposed and detained, when Daisy got a message she had been waiting for.

* * *

*Flashback*

"So where are we going?" Coulson asked, as he and Mack followed Daisy through the snowy forest, their Quinjet now half a mile away.

"A hidden safehouse." Daisy replied. "It's off the grid, so it won't appear on any map."

"And your mystery Inhuman is out here?" Mack asked.

"He was here for his own safety." She said cryptically, as she stepped over a fallen branch.

"You know, you've been rather tight-lipped about who this guy is." Coulson noted. "Is there something we should know?"

"It's... rather hard to explain." Daisy said.

She had kept the identities of Lincoln's rescuers a secret for the time being, as she had promised. She didn't like having to do it, but they had insisted on remaining anonymous, for now anyway.

They had both agreed to keep silent, out of respect, and a little bit of fear. Honestly, it was kinda scary how much these guys knew. The evidence that had exposed Radcliffe and helped save May had surreptitiously come from these guys, something SHIELD hadn't figured out immediately.

Still, given what she had learned, she was leaning towards the fact that these guys could be trustworthy, but paranoia from the life of a spy didn't just go away instantly, and she knew that SHIELD would have a tough time trusting them as well.

But that was for the future. Right now, it was the first step. Daisy shook out of her musings as they arrived at their destination, a small run down shack in the middle of nowhere. Several security sensors were hidden among the trees, letting the inhabitant of the cabin know they were coming.

"This is the place." She said, gesturing for the two field agents to follow.

She ran up to the door, which opened before she had a chance to knock and before she knew it, she was wrapped in his embrace, returning it with her hands around his waist, forgetting where she was, and ignoring the cold wind on her skin.

"Daisy, you know this guy?" Mack asked. Apparently, they couldn't see him very well in their position.

"We all do." She said, as she reluctantly unwound herself from him, realizing that Mack and Coulson couldn't see him from their angle. She moved out of the way, and wished she had a camera when she saw their faces.

"Hey Mack. Hey Coulson." Lincoln said meekly. "Looks like you're not the only one to come back from the dead."

*End Flashback*

* * *

It was definitely a massive shock for SHIELD at his return. Obviously, there had been a lot of questions about how it was possible, and given recent events, there was a suspicion that Lincoln was actually an LMD.

Thankfully, Fitzsimmons' test revealed that he was the exact same person he was before the events of Hive's death. However, both Daisy and Lincoln remained tight-lipped about the identity of their rescuers, at least for the time being, promising that SHIELD would learn who they were soon enough.

The two Inhumans weren't fond of having to keep such secrets from their team, but their new allies had insisted on it, claiming they would contact SHIELD's leadership within the week. If not, Daisy and Lincoln were going to tell them regardless.

Still, now wasn't the time for that. The two Inhuman lovers had finally reunited, and with Lincoln returned to SHIELD, Daisy was getting him caught up on current events, not just mission wise, but among the team as well.

"So Mack and Yo-yo are together?" Lincoln smirked. "About time."

"Tell me about it." Daisy chuckled. "And I think May and Coulson might finally be heading down the same path."

"Well, they'd deserve it." Lincoln said, stifling a yawn. "After everything that happened to them, they've earned it."

They were now in her room, which had been kept for her even after she left SHIELD. They were just lying on her bed, letting Lincoln relax after the long period of physicals, medical tests, and so much more. It had been an exhausting day for the energy manipulator.

"I hope you're not too tired." Daisy said as she got up. "I haven't had a chance to see you in over a month." She pulled off her shirt, keeping her back to him, while looking over her shoulder and smirking at the lust in his eyes.

"This is something that's long overdue."

The exhaustion in the Inhuman's body vanished immediately, as all his blood began rushing downwards. Lincoln managed to get his own shirt off just before Daisy straddled him and hungrily kissed him.

Static tingled across her back as his hands roamed her body, causing her to moan. His hands traveled downwards, pulling her pants down, leaving her only in her underwear. Not to be outdone, Daisy broke off the kiss and pushed him on his back, before grabbing the hem of his pants and pulling them off, leaving him clad in his boxers.

She straddled him once more, and moaned as his hands reached around her back, unhooking the clasp from her bra, before pulling her in for another kiss. She moaned as his lips traveled downward, minor tremors knocking over some of the items on the shelves.

His hands gently massaged her breasts, as he planted kisses along her jaw, her neck and chest before his lips reached her breasts. She moaned as his lips wrapped themselves around her breast, kissing all over and occasionally sucking on her nipple, static on his mouth tingling against her flesh.

One of his hands massaged the other breast, alternating between palming the globe and pinching her nipple. As he manipulated her breasts, his other hand drifted down towards her underwear, gently slipping under as his fingers brushed against her clit.

She gasped in pleasure, causing the bed to vibrate beneath them. Grinning against her body, Lincoln briefly switched his mouth to her other breast, before kissing his way down her stomach.

Suddenly, he pulled away and lifted her up, kissing her deeply when she groaned at the abrupt stop. Turning around, he gently deposited her on the bed, leaving a trail of kisses down her body as his fingers drifted under the hem of her underwear.

He pulled the final stitch of clothing off of her, kissing down her thighs and legs as she breathlessly kicked the garment away. She moaned as his head hovered over her slit, his hot breath blowing on her wettest parts, leaving her breathless in anticipation.

His mouth covered her slit and she moaned, as his hands reached up to caress her breasts. His tongue brushed against her clit, the tiniest zap causing her to moan and everything in the room to start shaking.

His tongue continued to lick on and in her slit, as his hands moved down to massage her inner thighs. Her hands were clenched on the bedsheets, as she tried to keep the vibrations contained to the room.

Lincoln chuckled against her, sending shivers down her spine as he continued his assault on her most private region. Eventually, it became too much for her, and the knot in her stomach uncoiled as she came, with Lincoln lapping it up in order to prolong her moment.

She shook off the kaleidoscope of feelings, as he took off his boxers, fully erect and ready for more. She beckoned him over, and he climbed into bed with her, kissing her deeply.

She tasted herself on his tongue and moaned, grabbing his arms and flipping them over so she was on top. She ground her hips against him, creating an erotic friction that caused one of the light bulbs to flicker out. She giggled at his moaning, before she positioned his member at her entrance.

Daisy rolled her hips over his before gently pulling herself down onto him. They locked lips to cover up both their pleasured gasps as a low tremor and small power disruption moved throughout the base, causing dust to scatter and lights to flicker.

It didn't take long to find their rhythm again, as Lincoln thrust into her, she wrapped her legs around his waist, arching her back and allowing him to get a deeper angle. They both moaned in pleasure, as another thrust from him caused the room to shake and the lamp to flicker.

They kissed again to muffle their moans, and Daisy trailed down, leaving a hickey on his neck as they rocked back and forth. Lincoln increased his pace, causing them both to roll their eyes back in pleasure.

"Don't stop." She gasped. "Oh god, keep going!"

Lincoln grunted breathlessly as he increased the pace even faster, as Daisy arched her back, letting him get to an even deeper angle. Her nails dug deep into his shoulders as she finally lost control, screaming his name as she came. Her orgasm set off his, and now it was him screaming her name as the room shook and the lights went out.

Daisy collapsed on top of him, both of them sweaty and breathless from their session. After a minute, Lincoln realized he was still inside her, and pulled his member out, causing her to lay on her side.

Her arm was wrapped his waist while his was wrapped around her back, her head was on his chest as her brown locks tickled his skin, while she listened to his heartbeat in her ear.

"I love you, Daisy." Lincoln whispered, his breath ragged.

"I love you, too." She replied, holding back happy tears.

The two of them basked in the afterglow, a soft hum caused by the static tingling and minute vibrations that bounced between them, just feeling the calm in each other's presence. The peace of the moment was shattered from a knock at the door.

"Daisy, Lincoln." It was Coulson. He sounded both amused and annoyed. "Either you guys move that to the containment cells, or we line your rooms with it. The entire base knows what you're doing!"

The two Inhumans groaned. "Guess we should've seen that coming." Lincoln said.

"Yeah... still worth it though." She leaned up and kissed him. "I am really glad you're back." She murmured against his lips.

"Me too." He whispered, his exhaustion catching up to him once more.

He soon fell into a deep sleep, the long day having finally caught up with him. Daisy wasn't far behind him, just listening to his rhythmic breathing as it lulled her into a deep sleep.

* * *

He woke sometime later, feeling something wrapped around him. Looking down, he suppressed a laugh, seeing Daisy Johnson now known publicly as the superhero Quake, cuddled against him in her sleep.

It really was so adorable, and he couldn't help but run his hand down her hip, the static in his hand tickling her. She moaned in her sleep, shifting slightly as a small chuckle slipped from his lips.

"Mmm."

Daisy stirred, her eyes opening sleepily, she then smiled at him. "Good morning." She said as she kissed him.

"Good morning to you too. You look like you had a good sleep."

"Well, you make a good cushion."

"No nightmares then?" He grimaced at her expression, immediately regretting saying it. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought it up."

"It's fine." She said, shaking her head. "I haven't had one since you came back."

"Glad to know I could help." He grinned. "It was hard work coming back from the dead."

"Do you want a reward?" She snarked.

"Well, a vacation at a Five Star resort would be nice." He replied jokingly. However, this did give Daisy something to think about.

"You know, I wouldn't mind a vacation." Daisy said seriously. "Preferably a long one."

"You want to leave SHIELD?" Lincoln asked incredulously. "Didn't you just get back?"

"Not right now. And not forever." Daisy replied. "But considering everything that's happened, I just want to get away from it all."

"Are you sure you can?" Lincoln cheekily replied. "I heard you've been getting some marriage proposals, 'Quake'?"

"Don't remind me." Daisy sighed. "Who knew that being a superhero would come with so many looney fans?"

"Didn't you use to cosplay outside Stark Tower?"

"It was just one time!" She protested. "And anyway, I'm really not a fan of the name Quake."

"I don't know." Lincoln grinned. "I think it suits you."

"You would know, 'Sparkplug'." He groaned.

"I still can't believe that's the codename they gave me."

"Well, you should own it." Daisy said cheekily. "I think it suits you."

"You're so mean."

She couldn't help but laugh at his pouty expression, and wrapped him in her embrace. Only a few months ago, Daisy had thought she had lost him forever. Right now, she never wanted to let him go again. Melting into his embrace, she gave a contented sigh. It really was good to be back.


	6. Allies

"Well... this is a lot to take in." Coulson said.

The team had gathered in Director Mace's office, where they had finally heard the story behind Lincoln's revival and who was responsible. Suffice to say, out of all the possible explanations, they hadn't actually expected something like this.

"So, the whole theory about the multiverse... it's true?" Fitz asked, feeling rather excited. They had known about other dimensions thanks to the Ghost Rider, but fully alternate universes with alternate Earths was still a surprise.

"Yep."

"Apparently so."

"Fascinating." Jemma shared her boyfriend's curiousity. "Imagine all the things we could learn from these people."

"Assuming we can trust them." Mack pointed out.

"Agreed." May nodded. "This whole thing could be some sort of trap."

"To what end?" Lincoln countered. "Considering what we've seen, they really wouldn't need to be so elaborate."

"And you think this Republic is on the level?" Mace asked. "You trust them?"

"I wouldn't say trust, per se." Daisy started. "But they did help us. In more ways than we can know."

"Like what, exactly?" Mace asked. "They might as well be ghosts, seeing as we have absolutely no idea what these guys have done here."

"Actually we do." The Inhuman known as Quake said. "We've run into their handiwork before."

"I'm sorry, you're going to have to repeat that." Coulson said. "What do you mean, we've seen their work before?"

"You remember that HYDRA black box we were after?" Daisy asked. "The one that you wanted in order to figure out what happened to the HYDRA base in the Antarctic?"

* * *

Flashback

In the underground complex, HYDRA soldiers stood guard, ready to ensure that no one would get in. Despite their dedication, it was hard not to be bored: this facility was nothing more than a black box site for one of their larger operations. It was so out of the way that most of the staff believed no one would find them.

That preconception was shattered when the door was blasted off its hinges by a vibrational shockwave, sending the two guards flying as well. The infiltrators moved through the debris at a brisk pace, desiring to make their objective quickly.

Daisy, Mack, Bobbi and Hunter blew through any HYDRA guards in their path, the former sending whole groups flying with her shockwaves and the latter fighting anyone who tried to come out from the side rooms.

Soon, they reached their destination and split up. With Daisy in charge of hacking into the database of the records room, the rest of the team would clear a path and make sure the lockdown wouldn't trigger.

"Guys, you good?"

"We're fine, Daisy." Bobbi's voice came through the radio.

"Alright, I'm starting the download." The Inhuman replied.

"How long will this take?" Mack asked.

"Well, it might take a bit." She paused and sent a shockwave at the HYDRA soldiers who just ran through the door. "The security is fairly tight, it'll take some time to crack."

"Oh please, take your time." Hunter drawled sarcastically. "We've only got god knows how many HYDRA soldiers to deal with."

"Quit complaining." The sound of Bobbi's staves striking someone and the subsequent grunt of pain could be heard over the comms. "We've dealt with far worse than this."

Daisy meanwhile, was focused on the task at hand, quickly breaking through HYDRA's encryption and downloading all the information they needed onto a flash drive. They weren't able to get a whole lot, but they had the locations of several minor HYDRA bases and more importantly, the black box files they were searching for.

"I've got it." She pressed her hand to her ear. "We can go now."

The SHIELD team raced back outside, to find several black vans full of HYDRA agents waiting for them. All of the HYDRA troops had their weapons out and pointed at the infiltrators and were calling for them to surrender.

In response, Daisy unleashed a massive vibrational wave, sending all the cars and people flying. As they struggled to recover, a Quinjet flew down and opened the ramp for the team to get on. Lincoln stood at the loading bay ramp, firing off a bolt of electricity at a soldier coming from behind the team.

"I think it's time to go."

As soon as they were all onboard, the Quinjet took off into the air and disappeared, leaving the furious HYDRA agents behind.

"That was cutting it a little close." Mack said.

"I knew we would make it." Hunter replied. "Never had a doubt." Bobbi rolled her eyes.

"Of course you didn't."

"Damn it." Daisy muttered, drawing everyone's attention. "All the Antarctic files were corrupted."

"Well can you put them back together?" Mack asked. The Inhuman shook her head.

"HYDRA wasn't having much luck." She sighed. "I'll try anyway, I'm not sure if I'll be able to do any better."

Flashback

* * *

"Yeah, after we destroyed the castle." Coulson noted. "But all the footage from that base was corrupted."

"They were the ones who did that." Lincoln explained. "Just like they were the ones who destroyed the base."

"Why?" Mace cut in. "What possible reason would they have for destroying the base so thoroughly?"

"And why go to all the trouble to keep it so secret?" May asked.

"It's because of what HYDRA found." Daisy said, pulling out a flash drive.

"Is that-"

"The footage from said HYDRA base." Daisy finished. "Uncorrupted and unaltered."

"You need to see it." Lincoln said. "All of you."

After a moment of setting it up, the video began streaming on the projection wall. For a moment, it looked like a relatively normal HYDRA lab, right up until the monstrous creatures began their attack.

After several minutes of watching, Coulson stopped the footage, leaving all of them stunned and horrified at what they saw. Daisy and Lincoln had already seen it and more, but that didn't make it any easier.

"My god." Was all Mack could say.

"You can see why they went to great lengths to make sure these things couldn't get out." Daisy said.

"If these things had gotten loose..." Mace started. "How long would it have taken to overrun the rest of the world?"

"According to our new 'friends;' no more than two days." Lincoln replied. "And they said they were being overly generous with that estimate."

"I can see why." Simmons said. "Biological infection alone is unnaturally fast, and combine that with their ability to gain knowledge and use weapons, and this would make Hive's plan look tame by comparison."

"Not to mention the obvious technical knowledge." Fitz commented. "If their hive mind retains the knowledge of everyone they've ever infected, it would make the Darkhold look like nothing more than a child's picture book. No system, no computer would be safe from digital corruption by something like that.

"And these things, these... 'Flood'. They're from another universe as well?" Coulson asked.

"That they are." Another voice emerged from the doorway. "And considering the last time they were free to a large scale, they consumed the vast majority of life in the known multiverse. So we'd rather not see them spread further again." The Republic agent that had introduced himself to them earlier walked into the room. The man had given his name as simply 'Smith', and had allowed the two Inhumans to speak on their behalf.

"Hence your zealousness in attacking that HYDRA base?" Mace said. "It does leave me to wonder just how far your people are willing to go."

"I understand your concern, Director Mace-"

"Do you really?" The SHIELD director said. "HYDRA did the exact same thing you've done now, both by infiltrating SHIELD, and using orbital weapons."

"Ok technically, HYDRA never used orbital weapons." The agent said. "Though not for lack of trying..."

"I think it's best that we start from the beginning." Coulson stepped up between Mace and Smith before things could get heated, looking directly at the latter. "Let's discuss this."

"If you insist."

...

Like Daisy and Lincoln before them, the core SHIELD team listened to the history behind the Republic, their former enemies the Separatists, and their conflict with the Flood. It took a while, and after the man had finished explaining, they were all silent, right up until May broke it.

"So, you've been watching our world, infiltrating both SHIELD and HYDRA, and to top it off, you and another powerful organization have technically attacked Earth." May responded.

"You can understand how we're a little... suspicious." Coulson stated simply.

"Are you kidding? You just found out that not one, but two multiverse superpowers have been infiltrating your world for the past eight years and have only just now come into the spotlight." The agent accurately summed up the situation. "I'd be more concerned if you weren't suspicious."

"Then you can understand why we need a chance to discuss this." Mace said, standing up.

"Of course. I'll let you be." Smith vanished. Mace turned back to the two Inhumans.

"Well, Ms. Johnson, Mr. Campbell. We've all got a lot to talk about."

...

"Well, that could've gone a bit better."

"Yes it could've. Still, at least they're aware of the Flood now."

"And we've earned some goodwill in the process. Maybe we can eventually open up larger diplomatic relations with this Earth."

"Considering the Sokovia Accords, not to mention Talbot's reactions when Mace told him, I'm not sure how well that'll go over at the moment. Hell, it barely went over well with the Justice League."

"Point taken. Still, what about the other things we've found? Like that Inhuman city on the Moon? Shouldn't we let them know about that? Or maybe that extradimensional city in China?"

"The decision to tell SHIELD about those is way above our clearance level. At the moment, they know about the Flood, which is what we needed for them to know."

"It's just as well. If we start interfering more in this universe, we could end bringing the Parasite something truly dangerous. I really don't want to see what would happen if the Gravemind got its tentacles on an Infinity Stone... or all of them."

"No one does. We've already seen what it could do at full strength. No one's eager for a repeat of the Great Flood War."

* * *

Several weeks later.

Despite the revelations they had learned, for the most part, SHIELD's operations continued as normal. They came into conflict with the Watchdogs over the Inhumans several times, and learned that Mace himself wasn't one at all.

After dealing with Senator Nadeer's smear campaign against the Inhumans, they then had to deal with the aftermath of one Watchdog, named Shockley, becoming an Inhuman with the powers of a reusable suicide bomber, having killed the Senator during his Terrigenesis.

Still, they had countered the Watchdogs at every turn, and even learned the name of their leader; Anton Ivanov, a former Russian spy with a grudge against Coulson and May. At the moment, he eluded them, but that would change soon.

Little did anyone realize just how soon.

...

Daisy woke up with her heart beating in her chest and tears in her eyes, unintentionally jerking upright into a sitting position. Unfortunately, her reaction pulled on Lincoln's arm, which had been wrapped around her waist, causing him to stir.

"Daisy?" He sleepily asked. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." She said quickly. He raised an eyebrow.

"You don't sound like it." She sighed.

"It was... another nightmare." Daisy turned to look at him. "About your death."

Lincoln said nothing in response; instead he wrapped both of his arms around her and pulled her into his embrace. Daisy melted into his hold as the static tingling from his arms and hands made themselves known on her back. Tears welled up in her eyes. He gently pushed her back until he was staring into her eyes, their foreheads resting against each other.

"I won't be gone again." The energy manipulater whispered. "I swear to you."

Gently wiping her tears away, she leaned forward and kissed him deeply. He reciprocated and pulled her closer, his hands running down her back while hers wrapped around his waist. His hand gently traveled down to her thigh, causing her to moan. He smiled against her lips, then gasped as she retaliated by grinding her hips against him. Lusty moans escaped both of them as their eyes darkened with desire.

Their moment was unfortunately interrupted by blaring alarms, and after grabbing a quick change of clothes, the two Inhumans rushed out, finding much of the base in a bit of a panic. They heard their names on the intercom, telling them to head to the lab.

"Guess we better see what's happening." Daisy sighed.

...

Lincoln and Daisy rushed to the lab, finding a lot of security and most of the team there as well. They were standing in front of the dimensional gateway AIDA had built with the Darkhold, which had now reactivated.

"What's going on?"

"The gate just reactivated on its own." Fitz said frantically. "I can't get it to shut down."

Suddenly, a figure appeared in the rift, before walking straight through, the portal closing behind it. It was a rather familiar figure to almost all of them: he was wearing a black leather jacket and dark pants, but the most obvious and striking feature was the flaming skull. He was carrying a flaming chain, which he unnaturally wrapped around his body.

"Is that who I think it is?" Mack asked. Coulson answered immediately.

"Ghost Rider."

Security hesitantly kept their weapons trained, remembering that nothing they could do would be able to stop him. Fortunately, the Rider had no interest in fighting SHIELD, instead turning back into Robbie Reyes. The guards lowered their weapons at Coulson's gesture.

"Robbie, what's going on?" Daisy asked. The Rider's host turned his gaze around at all of them.

"I need your help."


	7. Missions

It had been a rather trying time for SHIELD since Lincoln returned. Senator Nadeer and their fights with the Watchdogs had been a thorn in SHIELD's side, and unfortunately, the Republic was unable to support them, in order to avoid awkward questions from the UN and Talbot.

They had some major incidents as well, from meeting Senator Nadeer's brother Vijay, to the Senator's own death at the hands of Shockley, a Watchdog turned Inhuman with the ability to blow himself up, essentially becoming, in Mace's words "a reusable suicide bomber."

But what was really shocking was when the Watchdogs managed to steal the Darkhold away from the Koenigs, using a daring plan and intelligence, and seeming to time it just perfectly at a period where Republic agents were stretched thin and unable to help.

With the superpower confirming that their opposites, the Separatists, weren't involved, everyone was rather baffled as to how the Watchdogs pulled it off. And now, Robbie Reyes returned from hell, with the desire to reclaim the Darkhold and take it away.

According to him, someone had been messing with science from the Darkhold, creating a tear in the fabric of the dimension he had come from, allowing the Ghost Rider to escape. And SHIELD definitely wanted to keep that damn book out of the wrong hands.

While Mace in particular had been reluctant, Coulson and the rest were far more willing to help him, figuring that it would be safer for the Ghost Rider to take care of it. For the moment, they were still in the base, planning their next move.

While they were, Robbie met up with the one agent on Coulson's team that he hadn't actually met: Lincoln Campbell, who had been dead when he had first seen his picture during his second meeting with Daisy. The two of them were now walking through the halls of the Playground, getting to know one another.

"So, you're the guy who sold his soul to the devil?"

"That's me." Robbie confirmed. "I'm guessing you don't believe it?" Lincoln chuckled.

"You know, six months ago, I would've been really skeptical. But that was before I was resurrected by a multiversal empire."

"Fair enough." Robbie nodded. "So, we're in the same boat then. Of coming back from the dead."

"Looks like it."

"You, me, Coulson." Robbie said. "We should start our own club."

"Maybe we can petition for a pay raise." Lincoln said. "Or a year long vacation. Being resurrected has to give us some sort of benefit."

"Here's hoping." Robbie chuckled. The two of them were silent for a moment, then Lincoln broke it.

"So how did you end up meeting SHIELD?"

"I didn't. Not at first anyway." Robbie sighed. "Daisy managed to track me down."

"She is rather good at that." Lincoln nodded.

"Then I ran into Coulson and Mack while I was working on finding evidence about my uncle. From there, things just snowballed."

"Well, that's SHIELD for you."

Their path took them to past the glass walls of the science lab, where Coulson, Daisy, Fitz and Simmons were in deep discussion over their next move. Lincoln's gaze moved over to Daisy, smiling softly at her as she spoke with Coulson. Robbie's gaze turned to follow his.

"She really loves you, you know." Robbie said, turning his gaze to Lincoln. "I don't know exactly what happened to you and SHIELD before I met her, but she was in a low place."

"Things... hadn't gone very well." Lincoln admitted. "It wasn't a good time for SHIELD or her even before I... well, you know."

"And then you launched yourself into space with an active warhead."

"I gave my life for her." The Inhuman said. "And I would do it all over again if I had to."

"I'm not disagreeing." Robbie pointed out. "But not a lot of people get a second chance like this. So make the most of what you two have."

Lincoln nodded absentmindedly, his mind suddenly lost in thought. Robbie's words had struck a chord with him, one that resonated through his mind. He loved Daisy, he had given his life for her. Maybe it was time to go beyond that. He had planned to do so already, but the work and missions with SHIELD had kept interfering. He wouldn't keep doing that.

"Lincoln, Robbie." Coulson called, drawing their attention. "We need you in here."

...

The Inhuman and demon host joined in the discussion. Fortunately, the Republic had been able to pinpoint where the book had been taken: specifically an oil rig off the coast of Russia, which was owned by one Anton Ivanov, the leader of the Watchdogs.

Once again, the interdimensional superpower had been a godsend, giving SHIELD a comprehensive layout of the facility, including defenses, their weaknesses, and the amount of defenders, giving them a good chance of finding the book.

"Nice of the Republic to show us the defenses." Daisy admitted. "But they can't actually locate the Darkhold?"

"Considering what it is, I imagine sensors might have an issue picking it out."

"Well, it leaves a dilemma for us." May had joined the discussion alongside Mack. "Because once we're inside, how can we locate it?"

"I think we know how to find it." Coulson said, looking at Robbie. "You've said the demon in you is drawn to the same dark matter of the Darkhold."

"Yeah." He nodded. "I can locate it once we're on the ground."

"Good." Coulson looked over the map again. "Then we'll need to move quickly."

* * *

With the help of Robbie's supernatural tracking, and confirmation from the Republic, they approached undetected, while anyone who could interfere with this SHIELD operation would be kept occupied elsewhere.

The Zephyr flew towards the rig, completely cloaked to prevent any of the Watchdogs from detecting them. Scans had already determined that the facility used to be an old Soviet Union secret sub base buried deep underwater, so everyone was prepared accordingly.

"Is everyone ready?" Coulson asked.

The Secret Warriors gave their confirmation, then entered the containment module and waited until it dropped before it quickly landed on the deck of the rig. A couple of Watchdogs moved to stop them, but were sent flying from a vibrational blast as soon as the door opened.

More of the terrorists emerged from the rig, but they were quickly overwhelmed by the team of superhumans. The warriors split up, moving around the rig to make sure that there were no AA guns to worry about.

Once that was done, the four of them gathered back on the main deck, right at the landing pad. A Quinjet decloaked, the back ramp lowering and allowing the strike team of SHIELD agents to deploy, Coulson among them.

Daisy, Lincoln, Robbie and Yo-yo formed the vanguard of their attack on the Watchdog compound. The four of them barged into a room filled with Watchdogs, all armed to the teeth.

It was a massacre: Yo-yo instantly disarmed most of the people in the room, while Daisy and Lincoln made short work of the humans with their powers and SHIELD training. But it was Robbie who really shined against the Watchdogs, using his chain and hellfire to annihilate everyone who got in his path. He didn't even need to transform into the Rider for any of this.

Eventually, Coulson joined up with the Inhumans and Rider, the Director in particular looking exceptionally disappointed. "I missed it, didn't I?" He looked around the room at the debris and bodies within. "The four of you all together and I missed it. Damn."

More SHIELD combat teams were deployed to secure the rig, as the quartet of superhumans and Coulson made their way down into the Watchdog facility. Between four superhumans and trained agents, the militarized hate group didn't stand a chance.

At one point, the Secret Warriors had split up into two groups, with Daisy and Elena in one, and Lincoln and Robbie in the other. The latter group were making their way to the heart of the station when they were ambushed by a firing lane of Watchdogs, forcing the Inhuman into cover.

Robbie though, walked right through the hail of gunfire, his flesh burning off in the process. The Watchdogs stopped firing in horror as the Ghost Rider kept marching up, with Lincoln getting a front row view of the demon's carnage. When the Watchdogs were dead, Lincoln walked up to Robbie, who once more had his flesh regenerated.

"Ok." Lincoln looked around the room, feeling both queasy and impressed. "I'm glad you're on our side."

"So am I." Robbie nodded. "C'mon, let's go find the others."

Eventually, SHIELD tactical teams had secured most of the installation, and the Secret Warriors alongside Coulson made their way down into the heart of of the structure. It didn't take long for them to find who they were looking for.

"Agent Coulson, welcome. And I see you brought your Inhuman lapdogs." Anton Ivanov chuckled. "You are about to witness history."

* * *

* **The next segment takes place in my story Accounts of the Flood Conflicts, specifically the chapter titled 'Ghost Rider'. If you want to see what happened, go check it out, but it's not strictly necessary if you want to read on.** *

...

The team watched from the video screen as the rig and a chunk of the surrounding water had been vaporized. Republic drones scoured the wreckage, both to ensure that no Flood had survived, and to find Robbie. Scans for both were coming up negative.

"I guess that's it then." May said. "The Flood are gone."

"Thank god." Coulson muttered. "That was definitely a nightmare I never wanted to see."

"It's not like we were short on nightmares anyway." Lincoln said.

They had known just how dangerous the Parasite was, but to see it up close, to watch those people change into horrific abominations... it definitely wasn't a fun experience for anyone. Of course, seeing the destruction here wasn't much better.

The ocean floor was still burning despite the water now seeping in. What little had cooled down looked like blackened glass, stretching out for two miles in every direction from the rig, which had been utterly vaporized.

Under normal circumstances, Coulson would've protested that such destruction was overkill, but having seen what those monsters were capable of, it was hard to argue that the Republic wasn't justified.

"Take us back to base." Coulson said after a few minutes. "There's no point hanging around here."

On the way back, SHIELD got an expected but not exactly welcome call coming in from General Talbot. The team gathered around Coulson as he stood in front of the monitor, which the Director activated with a sigh.

"General."

"Director Coulson." Well, judging by the look Talbot's face and his annoyed voice, this was off to a great start. "You want to explain to me what in Sam Hell you've been doing?"

"Could you be more specific?"

"Don't play dumb with me, Coulson." Talbot growled. "The Russian government has reported that one of their old oil rigs has been turned into a glass crater, and that a SHIELD plane was reportedly spotted in the area beforehand."

"We were... containing a biological weapons outbreak." Coulson replied. It wasn't completely false.

"With what?" Talbot countered. "A massive energy spike was detected at the site, too much to be a nuke. What did you even use?"

"It's probably better if you don't know."

"Let me guess: it's the work of your alien buddies?"

"Well, they're not all aliens, but... more or less." Talbot sighed in frustration.

"Goddamn it, Phil. I can't keep doing this forever. I mean it was hard enough to explain how electric boy there," He gestured at Lincoln. "is still alive. How do you want me to explain that you're working with whoever these guys are? Without evidence, they're going to want another investigation, and I can't delay them any longer."

"Then tell them what I just told you." The SHIELD director replied. "Tell them that we stopped a bio weapon outbreak before it could get worse."

"Fine, but I can guarantee they'll want more answers." Talbot sighed. "SHIELD's already on thin ice as it is. I'll contact you again as the situation develops." The video screen shut down, as Coulson turned to May and shrugged.

"Well, it could be worse." Right as he said that, the plane rocked from the force of an explosion.

"You just had to say it." Mack groaned.

"Everybody hang on to something!" May shouted, heeding her own advice as she grabbed a piece of railing.

The team braced themselves against whatever they could find. Unfortunately, they weren't out of the woods yet. A pair of fighter jets was tailing the Zephyr, seemingly having no issue following the cloaked vehicle.

Their missiles on the other hand, weren't quite as sophisticated, but explosions were occurring too close to the plane for comfort. Coulson staggered up to the cockpit, watching as the pilots were struggling to keep flying.

"Who's firing?"

"Not sure, sir. These bogeys just appeared out of nowhere." The pilot cursed. "I'm trying to shake them, but the Zephyr wasn't designed for this type of dogfighting." Another explosion rocked the cabin. "Sir, you may want to buckle up for this."

Right as he said that, something strange happened: a blue-white portal appeared in the middle of the sky, and moving at full speed, the Zephyr was unable to halt before it flew right through it.

There was a distinct feeling of vertigo and Coulson stumbled back from the brief shuddering, before the ride became unnaturally smooth. Taking a look around, it seemed that everyone else was feeling somewhat nauseous.

"Everyone alright?"

"Besides feeling like puking my guts out, I'm golden." Daisy groaned, as similar confirmations or agreements echoed. "What just happened?"

"Apparently, we flew through some kind of portal."

"Yeah, sorry for the abrupt transportation." They all turned to find Agent Smith standing behind them. "But we thought it best to get you all out of the fire. And the only prepared portal capable of transporting something the Zephyr's size led here."

"And where is 'here', exactly?" Lincoln asked.

"Sir!" The pilot called. "I'm patching our view to the monitor. You need to see this."

Team Coulson walked up to the monitor, only for several jaws to drop at the sight in front of them. A large flower shaped construct stretched as far as the eye could see, with lush landscapes and oceans spread over the surface. At the center was what appeared to be a half-mined planet, while a large ring shaped megastructure in orbit.

"Welcome to the Ark." Smith smirked. "One of the Republic's most important strongholds."

The rest of Team Coulson gazed at the Forerunner construct in awe. Through everything, they could also see what appeared to be thousands, if not millions of ships in the sky, flitting around between the ring and the Ark.

"How big is this place?" Fitz asked.

"127,530 kilometers in diameter." The Republic agent rattled off, helpfully answering Fitz's question.

"That's over ten times the diameter of Earth!" Simmons gaped. "The scale... it's unbelievable!"

"So why did you actually bring us here?" Mace asked. Smith sighed.

"The planes that attacked you, we have reason to believe they were being flown by Unitologists." He explained. "And considering you helped ruin their plans to bring the Flood to your Earth, they're not going to be happy."

"So this is a safety precaution?" Mack guessed.

"And a gesture of trust. Not too many people outside the Republic get to see this place."

"I'm honored." Coulson said neutrally. "But that's not all we're here for, is it?"

"We need to debrief you about what you saw." He gestured to the three Inhumans and Coulson. "If Hive's been infected, we need to know what he can do."

"Sounds fun." Yo-yo groaned.

"How long do you expect all this to take?" May stepped in.

"Just a day." Smith promised. "It'll be enough time for us to deal with the Unitologists discreetly." He gestured to the construct on the monitor. "In the meantime, I guess the rest of you should enjoy the sights."

...

"How did it go?"

"It didn't take very long. I think SHIELD's quite enjoying what they're seeing here."

"And what about the intel on Hive?"

"They didn't stick around long enough to find out much. All we have is what footage we could recover from the oil rig."

"It'll have to be enough then. What about the Unitologists?"

"We're dealing with them right now. They'll be gone shortly."

"Good. In the meantime, I guess we'll let SHIELD enjoy themselves. I doubt they're going to get much of a break in the coming days."

"Though we can definitely make it easier for them."

...

Their day on the Ark was the only relatively bright spot in everything. As soon as they returned, the investigation Talbot had warned them of began, and SHIELD found themselves under intense scrutiny and each agent was subjected to a rigorous interrogation.

Since they couldn't reveal the existence of the Republic, Separatists and Flood, or their alliance with the former, everyone had to remain tight-lipped about the details, frustrating the investigators to no end. It was beginning to look like SHIELD might be disbanded yet again.

But amazingly enough, something changed. The government withdrew their investigations into SHIELD, and all the political pressure was quietly dropped. Evidence appeared that confirmed the presence of biological weapons aboard Ivanov's oil rig, and that they had been using Chitauri technology to power the self-destruct quarantine.

Still, the investigators weren't immediately satisfied. It took a while for everyone to accept what had happened and by the time SHIELD could finally rest easy, it had been nearly a month since the events at the oil rig.

Coulson had asked Agent Smith whether or not the Republic had anything to do with this sudden turnaround, but of course he gave the typical answer of "I can neither confirm nor deny that."

Of course, that wasn't the end of it: A few days later, the Republic agent returned, and gathered Coulson's team together for an important meeting, though he didn't say why exactly. Still, everyone appeared to find out just what was going on.

"So, Agent Smith." Phil Coulson greeted. "What do you have for us?"

"I figured you'd like to know that we've located Robbie Reyes." The Republic agent cut straight to the point. "And we may need your help to talk to him."

The other SHIELD agents looked at each other. They had known that Robbie was alive, considering the reports of his car vanishing into a portal a month ago, but to hear that he had been found again was surprising.

"And why do you need us?" May asked.

"We need your help to talk him down." John Smith admitted. "He's been causing quite a bit of a mess for the world he's currently on."

"What's he doing there?" Now it was Daisy who asked the question.

"We're not sure, we've only just confirmed his presence today." The agent sighed. "Look, we could probably subdue him, but you know how powerful he is; I doubt it would be without casualties. He knows you, and has worked with you. At the very least, you all have a better chance of ending this peacefully." Team Coulson once again looked at each other, needing only a moment to come to a decision.

"Where is he?"

"On a world where the power to control the elements are the norm." Smith explained. "With the exception of one, a good chunk of the population can control water, earth, fire or air."

"I'm guessing there's a bit to go over?" May asked.

"You could say that." Smith replied.

And so the briefing began, where Smith and his AI went over important aspects of the world in question. They explained the basic history, the capabilities and limitations of the elemental benders.

Then there was the explanation of the Avatar and their connection to the spirits. That last portion got a brief skeptical look from the agents, particularly Fitzsimmons, but they relented when Smith pointed out that Robbie was possessed by an extradimensional demon, which they couldn't argue.

Just as the briefing finished up, Smith got a message from Agent Tamara. Apparently, Mister Reyes had gotten in a fight with the Avatar and her friends, and it clearly didn't go well for them.

"Understood." Smith turned back to the SHIELD agents, who were looking at him curiously. "Ok, things just got more complicated. Your friend just assaulted the Avatar and her friends and they want some help to talk him down."

"When do we leave?" Daisy asked.

"Immediately."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's the end of this chapter. Now, for those who are curious, the events at the end of this chapter are continued in my story Spirits and Shields, so if you want to know what happens there, give it a look.
> 
> So yeah, this chapter jumps around quite a bit, especially with the crossover parts. I apologize for how disjointed it is, but I wanted to get a lot of this out of the way, and I figured it would be better to get it done in one go.


	8. Proposal

It had been well over a month after the battle at the oil rig, and a couple weeks after SHIELD's brief adventure with Robbie in that other universe. After that, Lincoln and Daisy had decided to take a vacation in a tropical resort in Costa Rica.

It was part of a larger initiative, where most of the core SHIELD team were taking some time off, now that threats like the Watchdogs had been all but eliminated. The two Inhumans had jumped at the opportunity, having been hoping to do this for a while, especially after Lincoln came back.

Unfortunately, it took a while for things to cool down for SHIELD: between the Flood incursion, the political backlash for the oil rig's destruction, their brief journey to the Ark, and their sojourn onto the world of the Four Elemental Nations, and Lincoln had been unable to do what he had intended.

That changed tonight.

With the Watchdogs crippled as a military threat thanks to the death of Ivanov, SHIELD at long last got a little time to enjoy the peace. Daisy and Lincoln had chosen Costa Rica for their own private vacation, whereas unknown to the former, the latter had an important question to ask her.

Checking his pocket for the umpteenth to ensure the small box was there, the energy manipulator tried to calm his nerves. He knew he was being stupid: after all they had been through, it was unlikely that Daisy would say no, but the fear still ate away at his mind.

Taking a deep breath, he kept control over his breathing, just as she had taught him to do. He went over the plan in his mind, and barring some sort of crisis (which unfortunately wasn't out of the question, but Lincoln definitely didn't want or need one tonight), it should go fairly well.

...

Their night had been amazing, as it always was. They had dinner at one of the best restaurants in the town, sampling the local food while they had a chance. Then they headed back to the hotel, but before they went in, Lincoln suggested they take a walk along the beach instead.

Surprised, Daisy agreed nevertheless, and soon the two of them were walking hand in hand down the sandy stretch. It was a clear night, with thousands of stars lighting up the night sky and the ocean, the twinkling lights reflected in the water. Even after everything they had seen, the sight was still breathtaking.

"It's beautiful out here." Daisy said, her hand wrapped around his as they walked along the empty beach.

"Yes." Lincoln agreed, looking up at the night sky before turning his gaze to her. "It definitely is."

Catching his stare, Daisy blushed, pulling him closer to her. His arm wrapped around waist, and smiling she rested her head on his shoulder. He seemed unusually tense for one of their normal dates, but it didn't take long for Daisy to come to a realization as to why.

With the romantic dinner, the evening walk along the beach, and Lincoln's unusually nervous demeanor... well, it really wasn't difficult to guess what he was planning. Of course, Daisy already had her answer prepared: after all this time, and everything they had been through together, there wasn't a chance in hell that she would say no.

It seemed that time was now, as he slowed to a stop, bringing her with him. "Lincoln? Are you alright?"

Lincoln could barely keep himself from staring at her. Her smile always lit up the room, and she had a passion and strength that drew him to her. God, he was so in love with her. Steeling himself, the Inhuman took a deep breath, then took the plunge.

"Daisy." Lincoln began. "I love you so much. And I had this whole speech prepared, but I don't think words can describe the way I feel when I'm with you."

"Lincoln..." She whispered, holding back tears as her hands closed around his.

She gave him a sense of peace whenever she was around, something he had never truly felt before. She felt butterflies in her stomach whenever she was with him. They made each other laugh, and they had seen one another at their best and their worst.

"I'd give my life for you." Hell, he already had. "Now, I want to spend the rest of it with you."

He let go of her hands and got down on one knee. Lincoln pulled a box out of his pocket and held it up, opening it and causing Daisy to gape at the ring inside. She had known this would come sooner or later tonight, but even then, it didn't matter.

"Will you marry me?"

She didn't reply at first. At least not with words. Instead, she tackled him to the ground, passionately kissing him, pouring all her love into their embrace, something he was more than happy to return. By the time they broke apart to breathe, she kept her forehead glued to his, gazing into his love-glazed eyes.

"So..." Lincoln's goofy smile was all too infectious. "Is that a yes?"

"Yes." She kissed him again. "Definitely yes."

From their position on the ground, he slipped the ring on her finger, giving her a chance to really get a good look at it. A beautiful gemstone of blue and green on a band of silver. It wasn't anything super extravagant, but then, she didn't want it to be.

"It's beautiful."

She didn't want to let him go, and only reluctantly did she do so, giving him a chance to get up from the sand. Daisy took his hand in hers while she took a better look at the ring, admiring it for a moment under the starlight before turning to him.

"I love you so much."

"I love you too." He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her again.

The two of them just held each other in a tender embrace, never wanting to let go again. Daisy let herself go, feeling so alive and content in this moment, a feeling she was sure Lincoln was experiencing as well. Eventually, he broke the silence.

"So, what should we do now?"

"Well, we're celebrating, obviously." Daisy pulled back slightly to look at him. "We've still got champagne in the room, right?"

"Just bought a brand new bottle."

"Perfect. And after that..." She leaned closer, her cheek brushing his as she whispered in his ear.

Blushing, Lincoln kissed her again, before they walked back to the hotel, hand in hand. They got in the elevator leading to their floor and as soon as it opened, they exited, this time with Daisy's legs wrapped around his waist and her arms around his neck.

His hands gripped her waist as they kissed passionately, Daisy grinning into his lips as they stumbled down the hallway. Pausing briefly at their door as he fumbled with his room key, she dragged him inside, pulling off and tossing his shirt aside as the door shut behind them.

* * *

Daisy woke the next morning with Lincoln's breath in her ear and his ring on her finger. The memory of his proposal last night drew a smile on her face and she settled into his embrace, enjoying the slight static of his hands on her waist.

Last night had been fun for them, in more than one way, considering their clothes were scattered around the room and a lot of stuff was on the ground. Contrary to expectations, the two Inhumans could limit their powers to their room with their... activities, and last night was one of those nights.

They hadn't even gotten to the champagne, which was admittedly Daisy's fault, but they still had time for it today. Besides, they weren't due back at SHIELD for another three days, so they could enjoy their recent engagement.

She snorted softly at the the thought. It was somewhat ironic: they had checked into this hotel under assumed names to avoid the press and any others that might recognize her name, disguised as a married couple. While it was still a lie, there was now a grain of truth to it.

Her thoughts were interrupted when Lincoln shifted, sleepily waking up and smiling at the sight before him. Daisy grinned and captured his lips with her own, wrapping her arms around him and pulling him closer. She broke off, resting her forehead against his.

"Good morning to you too." His smile matched her own.

They stayed that way for awhile, just enjoying each other's presence. Daisy let her thoughts wander to what they would do after this, imagining what their life would be like together. But unbidden her thoughts traveled back to how she had lost him, how he had died because of her. Something that could happen again with their life.

"Are you alright?" Some of her feeling must've reached her expression, because Lincoln was now looking at her with concern. She had to ask the question, she needed to know.

"Are you sure you want this?"

"Waking up every morning with you for the rest of my life?" Lincoln kissed her again. "I think I can live with that."

They had plenty of experience of that already. Daisy and Lincoln still technically had separate rooms in the Playground, but since the latter had returned, they hadn't spent any night alone. Still, it wasn't what she meant.

"I'm serious." She replied, rather somberly. "It's because of me that you..." She trailed off, but Lincoln knew what she was saying.

"Daisy," He cupped her cheeks in his hands and gazed into her eyes. "I love you more than anything. Nothing will change that."

"I just don't want to lose you again." Tears trickled down her cheek, which he was quick to wipe away.

"You won't." He pulled her close, his hand running through her hair as she buried her face in his shoulder. "I promise you." He held her like this for a moment before a thought occurred to him.

"Besides, May would kill me if I left you." Daisy shook silently as she laughed against him.

"Can't argue with that."

She kissed his cheek, then held his hand, running the fingers of her other hand over his stubble. His own hand was around her back, tracing circles on the small of her back. His eyes were closed and his breathing was soft, and she couldn't help but admire how innocent he looked like this.

Still, the moment had to end one way or another, and her eyes drifted to the clock, which read that it was well past noon. Sighing, she detached himself from his embrace, to his disappointment. She smiled and grabbed his hand, feeling his fingers run over the ring he had given her.

"I'm going to take a shower." She didn't let go of his hand, instead pulling him out of bed. "And you're going to join me."

That got him up. She gently pulled her fiancee inside the bathroom and closed the door. After all, there were a lot of ways to celebrate their engagement, and they had plenty of time to do so.


	9. Secrets Revealed

A bald man walked into his kitchen, taking a brief glance at the drawings on his fridge before opening it and grabbing some coconut water. He closed the door, not even bothering to glance behind him.

"I've been expecting you." He turned to view the seemingly empty kitchen. "You can come out now."

Two pairs of shimmering silhouettes faded into view, one of them a human and the other of a large alien species with reptilian skin, dreadlocks emerging from its skull, tribal looking weapons and armor, and a silver mask covering its face.

"Robin Hinton's gift I presume?" The human said, gesturing to one of the drawings, the one with the poorly drawn silhouettes of the the three of them. "She certainly is powerful."

"She is a gifted seer." The bald man replied. "But I understand you have questions." The alien growled slightly.

"You could say that." The other man replied. "But first let's see if I have this correct: you are a Chronicom version of an anthropologist, sent here thirty thousand years ago to study this planet and its inhabitants, taking the name Enoch as your human name. How am I doing?"

"You're certainly informed, Mister-?"

"Smith." The younger man replied. "And I can say the same about you, considering you were able to contact us."

"I have my methods of discovery." Enoch said calmly. "Just as you do."

"Cryptic. The seer most likely, then." Smith said, as his partner emitted a growl. "But that's not what we're here to talk about, is it?"

"You wish to know my interest in SHIELD." Enoch stated. "Why I contacted your Republic." The alien growled again, drawing a nod from Smith.

"You've got that right." Smith agreed. "An extinction level event; it's the only reason you'd interfere at all."

"Indeed. Initially, it was an event relating to SHIELD, but with your arrival, things have shifted." Enoch pulled something from the kitchen drawer. "The prophecy has changed."

Enoch held up one of Robin's drawings. This one had noticeably misshapen creatures crudely drawn on them, along with lines that appeared to be tentacles, all of which were a sickly green and yellow.

"The Parasite draws near, for all of us."

Smith and his partner felt their blood run cold at the sight. But Enoch wasn't finished: he pulled out another drawing, this time showing silvery lines surrounding the Earth, which was cracked and was covered in greenish yellow patches all over the globe.

"Prophecies tend to be less reliable where the multiverse is involved." Smith countered. "And the future is always changing." Enoch put the drawings down and sat down at the table.

"Indeed. Of course, you would not be here if you thought there was no threat." Enoch replied. "And I am willing to aid you however I can."

"Then I suppose we have a lot to discuss." Smith said, taking a seat at the table.

* * *

When Daisy and Lincoln got back to the Playground, they were met with congratulations all around from their friends at their engagement. May actually hugged Daisy, as did Coulson and Mack when they announced that.

Of course, it turned out they weren't the only ones: Fitz and Jemma had both proposed to each other during their own break as well, which Lincoln and Daisy were happy to congratulate the two of them on alongside pretty much everyone else in SHIELD.

And well, Fitzsimmons had a request for Daisy when the time came for their wedding. Specifically, something they had all known about thanks to karaoke nights, despite Coulson's tendency to hog the mic; Daisy, as it turned out, was a really good singer.

Unfortunately, all their plans had to wait for a bit. Events had gone into motion that required SHIELD's attention, the first of which was when an old friend of Coulson's he had managed to contact for a face to face meeting.

To that end, Daisy and Lincoln were going in as well, for security purposes. The rest of the team would be nearby, but in the event that something went wrong, the Director of SHIELD would prefer to have the resident Inhumans on standby.

...

Phil Coulson sat in the middle of a cafe, completely in public. He was reading a magazine, still waiting for his contact to arrive. He snorted inwardly; no doubt she was already here, checking out every little detail before arriving.

Though given recent events, he couldn't blame her for that. His musings were interrupted when someone pulled up the opposite chair and sat down. He put his magazine down and regarded his visitor.

"That's an interesting look."

"Well, that's the drawback to having your appearance and all your personal history uploaded to the internet." Natasha Romanoff sighed. "When you're a wanted felon, you tend to stand out more."

"And yet you change your look just slightly, and suddenly no one recognizes you." Coulson noted.

"It worked for shellhead." Nat simply said. "Which in itself is still amazing."

"How is Stark by the way?" The SHIELD director asked before catching himself. "Right, sorry."

"From what I can tell, he's doing better." Nat said. "He's been working with that kid, trying to help him in between his usual stuff."

"The guy who calls himself Spider-Man?" Coulson raised an eyebrow. "How old is he exactly?"

"Probably not old enough to drink."

"And how's Barton?" Coulson asked.

"On the run." The former SHIELD agent replied. "I don't know where he is at the moment."

There was a brief pause in the conversation before Coulson changed the subject.

"It's good to see you again, Nat."

"I could say the same." Black Widow replied. "So why did you want to see me?"

"Can't I just say hi to an old friend?" He got a raised eyebrow in response. "Fair enough. I came here to give you a warning."

"And the agents three tables behind me?"

"You're not the only one that has enemies." His expression turned serious. "And that's why I wanted to talk to you. It turns out we have a lot more enemies and allies than we realized."

"And they say I'm paranoid. Still, you have my attention."

"Well then, you might want to look at the menu." Coulson gestured to hers while picking up his own. "Because this might take a while."

...

Daisy and Lincoln sat three tables away from the meeting, both of them wearing sunglasses to help conceal their identities. The two were also looking at their menus, while surreptitiously keeping watch on everyone around.

Of course, it wasn't just the two of them: May was standing off in the corner while Mack was sitting in the driver seat of the van parked across the street. Fitz was in the back of said van with his own scanning equipment alongside Davis and Piper, monitoring any and every frequency to alert them if Black Widow had been recognized and the authorities mobilized.

"I'm kinda surprised you didn't go into fangirl mode." Lincoln admitted.

"We're on a mission." His fiance replied.

"Even still..."

"To be honest, it's kind of intimidating." Daisy said. "Considering her exploits, it's not easy to just walk up to someone like that, especially considering some of her... less than savory actions in the past."

"Yeah, I've seen it online." Lincoln suppressed a wince. "Three dead husbands? I can see why they call her the Black Widow."

"And that's all on top of being a famous superhero." Daisy added.

"Something you already have experience with." Lincoln raised an eyebrow. Quake sighed.

"It can get a little crazy."

"You mean like all the fanfiction your fans have made?" Lincoln's response caused Daisy to groan at the memory. "That doesn't have anything to do with it?"

* * *

Flashback

"They've written a lot of fanfiction of you."

"I did not need to know that." Daisy tried to block out Sam's response but it didn't work.

"Shippers have paired you with Black Widow, in some rather steamy stories."

Daisy sincerely wished she could unhear that.

"They call the pairing Quack." Sam continued. "You should-." The Koenig brother paused. "Actually don't. Don't look it up."

Glancing to the side, she saw her boyfriend, who had clearly heard everything considering how he was desperately trying not to laugh. Luckily, Coulson and May walked into the room before Sam could make everything more awkward and forcing Lincoln to calm himself down.

End Flashback

...

"I was hoping you'd forgotten about that."

"Well, the fact that we're sitting several tables away from Natasha Romanoff kinda brought it back." Lincoln paused and then smirked. "I wonder if she's heard about it."

Daisy groaned and buried her face in her hands. Thankfully, she was spared any more embarrassment when May's voice came over the radio.

"Stay focused, you two." She said sternly, then switched to the rest of the team. "Any suspicious activity?"

"Negative." Davis said.

"Nope." Piper added.

"Nothing unusual." Elena said.

"Hold on." Mack's voice was worryingly tense. "I may have something."

...

Back in the cafe, Coulson had just finished telling Nat everything that had happened at SHIELD over the last few years, up to and including the recent incident at the oil rig. When he was finished, Nat was quiet for a moment.

"That's quite a story, Phil."

"Tell me about it." Coulson shook his head. "Even I barely believe it and I've lived through it."

"So, I'm guessing you want me to talk to Steve and the others about this?" Black Widow guessed.

"If you think it's necessary." Coulson shook his head. "Depends on how well you think he'll take it." Before Natasha could reply, Phil noticed Daisy and Lincoln stiffen, and a second later May's voice came over the radio.

"We've got company."

Seconds later, a black van drove up to the cafe, and several armed and masked figures stepped out onto the street. People in the cafe started screaming and running, while Daisy, Lincoln, Coulson and Natasha stood their ground.

Without warning, the masked soldiers took aim at the two Inhumans, only for their guns to abruptly vanish from their hands. Yo-yo dropped the guns on the ground, while the rest of SHIELD came up behind her.

"Identify yourselves." May shouted, her ICER aimed at them. One of the figures, armed with a chakra on her back, took a look around.

"Kill them all." A distorted voice emerged from behind her mask and the others moved in.

ICER rounds impacted with no effect, allowing the figures to close into hand to hand combat with team SHIELD. These guys were stronger than they had any right to be, and it was only when Daisy quaked one into their van that she realized why.

"They're robots!" She said.

The one that she had hit with her powers had lost its mask, revealing the metal face underneath. With that in mind, Lincoln hurled a bolt of electricity at another, instantly short circuiting it.

With the knowledge that they were fighting machines, it didn't take long for the robots to go down, though the one who gave the orders managed to slip away in all the chaos. As the last machine fell, sirens could be heard, signalling the arrival of the local authorities.

"You should go." Coulson turned to Nat.

"Fair enough." Black Widow shrugged. "SHIELD's already on thin ice as it is. I doubt it'll be welcoming if one of the world's top fugitives was found among them."

And with that said, Natasha Romanoff disappeared into the night.

"Well," Coulson turned back to the police cars as the officers started exiting the vehicles. "this is gonna be tricky."

* * *

After Coulson managed to smooth things over with the authorities, the team regrouped back at the Playground, bringing on the remains of the robot soldiers for study. While Fitz and Simmons looked over that, the rest were in discussion about what had happened.

"Clearly, we still have more enemies we don't know about." Coulson sighed. "We need to know who they are and why they're after us."

"Assuming they were." Mace pointed out. "Couldn't they have been gunning for Black Widow and the rest of you were just caught in the crossfire?"

"I doubt it." May said simply.

"She's right," Yo-yo agreed. "They specifically targeted Daisy when they arrived."

"Looks like someone else has a grudge against me." The Inhuman in question sighed. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised considering all the enemies we made."

"The question is who?" Mack interjected. "HYDRA and the Watchdogs were dealt with, and that doesn't leave many others who have a grudge against you."

"Perhaps I can assist." They all turned to see John Smith walk into the room. "From what we can tell, the one who sent those forces was a General Hale." A picture of the woman appeared on the office computer, along with her service info. "From what we can tell, the robots were her design."

"So why does she want to kill Daisy?" Lincoln asked.

"We're not sure." Smith replied, the frustration evident in his voice. "It's been surprisingly difficult to get info on her, even for us. Though we're assuming that Unitologists may be involved."

"I thought you had already dealt with them." May's eyes narrowed.

"We thought we did too." Smith sighed. "Apparently, they may have made some converts before we found the ones we knew about."

"Are you sure this involves Unitologists?" Coulson asked. "You've said yourself that the Republic's not omniscient. It could be completely unrelated."

"It's possible." Smith said after a moment. "But we've got some alarming information about that…" He trailed off at their questioning looks. "It's a long story, I'll explain later. For the moment, there's General Hale to think about."

"Well what can we do about her?" Mace asked. "We still don't know why she was after Daisy."

"We can talk to Talbot." Coulson replied. "Give him this information and see if he can launch an investigation into Hale's activities."

The discussion continued for a bit after that, and soon Smith left to consult the rest of the Republic. With that, the SHIELD team moved the topic to something a bit more personal: planning two weddings.


End file.
